We need a digital currency – so when will the penny drop?

Is the digital pound dead in the water? More than 100 countries are looking at the creation of their very own digital currencies.

- JAMES MOORE

China already has one. The EU is developing a digital euro at pace. But the Bank of England? It seems to be tacking the opposite way to the rest of the world.

Andrew Bailey told MPs on the Treasury Committee that he would need “a lot of convincing” to greenlight a launch, which the Bank has already said couldn’t happen until sometime in the “second half of the current decade” anyway.

Is this an opportunity missed? Even a case where the governor’s conservatism threatens to leave Britons in the digital dark ages?

First off, I should explain what the digital pound actually is. Digi-pounds (that’s not the official name; I’m not sure we have one yet) would be currency issued by the Bank that could be stored in a digital wallet provided by a company like, say, Apple. This would allow you to pay for things directly, without the need for the card you currently have to be set up to use Apple Pay. People could also pay you by the same means. PS, Apple CEO Tim Cook isn’t paying either me or The Independent for the mention. I’m using Apple Pay as an example because it’s a service I use.